The Closet aka Le placard [2001] [2017]

undefined

Product Description ------------------- François Pignon (Daniel Auteuil), an accountant in a condom factory, hears that he is about to be made redundant and decides that he might be able to save his job if he pretends to be gay. The ploy works; the management's fear of appearing politically incorrect causes them to do an about-face and ask François to stay on. But these new revelations about his sexuality begin to cause the accountant all kinds of trouble, particularly when macho colleague Félix Santini (Gerard Depardieu) falls in love with him. .co.uk Review ------------- A film about society's attitude to sexuality, with a lighthearted dig at political correctness gone mad, The Closet is French farce in the tradition of Moliere: a man pretends to be something he's not, people begin treating him differently, his lie escalates out of all proportion, and comedy ensues. Francois Pignon (Daniel Auteuil) is a dull, divorced accountant in a French rubber-processing factory whose primary product is condoms. The morning of the company photograph he overhears he is going to be fired. After half-heartedly trying to kill himself, he meets his new next-door neighbour who suggests a plot that will keep him from losing his job: he should pretend he's gay, and the neighbour will doctor the photographs and send them to his boss to prove it. The comedy springs from people's reactions to Pignon's alleged sexuality. The managing director puts him on a Gay Pride parade float with a condom on his head, his estranged son suddenly thinks he's cool, his female boss catches on to the scam and begins to think that Pignon is not as banal as she first thought, and the phobic, macho personnel director--a great performance from Gerard Depardieu--discovers his sensitive side. It's well directed by Francis Veber (writer of the original Three Fugitives), who moves the gentle action along masterfully, providing some laugh-out-loud moments and getting some great performances from his ensemble cast. Overall, it's an uplifting comedy about prejudice and how a Mr Nobody becomes a somebody. --Kristen Bowditch